Records |
Author |
Sarter, M. |
Title |
Animal cognition: defining the issues |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews |
Abbreviated Journal |
Neurosci Biobehav Rev |
Volume |
28 |
Issue |
7 |
Pages |
645-650 |
Keywords |
Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; Cognition/*physiology; Humans; *Models, Animal; Psychopharmacology/methods; Reproducibility of Results |
Abstract |
The assessment of cognitive functions in rodents represents a critical experimental variable in many research fields, ranging from the basic cognitive neurosciences to psychopharmacology and neurotoxicology. The increasing use of animal behavioral tests as 'assays' for the assessment of effects on learning and memory has resulted in a considerable heterogeneity of data, particularly in the field of behavioral and psycho pharmacology. The limited predictive validity of changes in behavioral performance observed in standard animal tests of learning and memory indicates that a renewed effort to scrutinize the validity of these tests is warranted. In humans, levels of processing (effortful vs. automatic) and categories of information (procedural vs. episodic/declarative) are important variables of cognitive operations. The design of tasks that assess the recall of 'episodic' or 'declarative' information appears to represent a particular challenge for research using laboratory rodents. For example, the hypothesis that changes in inspection time for a previously encountered place or object are based on the recall of declarative/episodic information requires substantiation. In order to generalize findings on the effects of neuronal or pharmacological manipulations on learning and memory, obtained from one species and one task, to other species and other tasks, the mediating role of important sets of variables which influence learning and memory (e.g. attentional, affective) needs to be determined. Similar to the view that a neuronal manipulation (e.g. a lesion) represents a theory of the condition modeled (e.g. a degenerative disorder), an animal behavioral task represents a theory of the behavioral/cognitive process of interest. Therefore, the test of hypotheses regarding the validity of procedures used to assess cognitive functions in animals is an inherent part of the research process. |
Address |
Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 4032 East Hall, 525 E. University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1109, USA. msarter@umich.edu |
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0149-7634 |
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PMID:15555674 |
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no |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2804 |
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Author |
Branchi, I.; Bichler, Z.; Berger-Sweeney, J.; Ricceri, L. |
Title |
Animal models of mental retardation: from gene to cognitive function |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews |
Abbreviated Journal |
Neurosci Biobehav Rev |
Volume |
27 |
Issue |
1-2 |
Pages |
141-153 |
Keywords |
Animals; Animals, Genetically Modified/growth & development; Behavior/physiology; Behavior, Animal; Brain/*growth & development; Cognition/*physiology; *Disease Models, Animal; Environment; Genes; Genetic Diseases, Inborn/physiopathology; Humans; Mental Retardation/classification/*genetics/*physiopathology |
Abstract |
About 2-3% of all children are affected by mental retardation, and genetic conditions rank among the leading causes of mental retardation. Alterations in the information encoded by genes that regulate critical steps of brain development can disrupt the normal course of development, and have profound consequences on mental processes. Genetically modified mouse models have helped to elucidate the contribution of specific gene alterations and gene-environment interactions to the phenotype of several forms of mental retardation. Mouse models of several neurodevelopmental pathologies, such as Down and Rett syndromes and X-linked forms of mental retardation, have been developed. Because behavior is the ultimate output of brain, behavioral phenotyping of these models provides functional information that may not be detectable using molecular, cellular or histological evaluations. In particular, the study of ontogeny of behavior is recommended in mouse models of disorders having a developmental onset. Identifying the role of specific genes in neuropathologies provides a framework in which to understand key stages of human brain development, and provides a target for potential therapeutic intervention. |
Address |
Section of Behavioural Pathophysiology, Laboratorio di Fisiopatologia di Organo e di Sistema, Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Roma, Italy. branchi@iss.it |
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0149-7634 |
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PMID:12732230 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2805 |
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Author |
Milgram, N.W.; Head, E.; Muggenburg, B.; Holowachuk, D.; Murphey, H.; Estrada, J.; Ikeda-Douglas, C.J.; Zicker, S.C.; Cotman, C.W. |
Title |
Landmark discrimination learning in the dog: effects of age, an antioxidant fortified food, and cognitive strategy |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2002 |
Publication |
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews |
Abbreviated Journal |
Neurosci Biobehav Rev |
Volume |
26 |
Issue |
6 |
Pages |
679-695 |
Keywords |
Age Factors; Aging/*physiology; Analysis of Variance; Animals; Antioxidants/*pharmacology; Blood Chemical Analysis/methods; Cognition/*physiology; *Diet; Discrimination Learning/*drug effects/*physiology; Distance Perception/drug effects/physiology; Dogs/physiology; Female; Male; Psychomotor Performance/physiology; Retention (Psychology)/drug effects/physiology; Spatial Behavior/*drug effects/*physiology; Task Performance and Analysis; Time Factors; Vitamin E/blood |
Abstract |
The landmark discrimination learning test can be used to assess the ability to utilize allocentric spatial information to locate targets. The present experiments examined the role of various factors on performance of a landmark discrimination learning task in beagle dogs. Experiments 1 and 2 looked at the effects of age and food composition. Experiments 3 and 4 were aimed at characterizing the cognitive strategies used in performance on this task and in long-term retention. Cognitively equivalent groups of old and young dogs were placed into either a test group maintained on food enriched with a broad-spectrum of antioxidants and mitochondrial cofactors, or a control group maintained on a complete and balanced food formulated for adult dogs. Following a wash-in period, the dogs were tested on a series of problems, in which reward was obtained when the animal responded selectively to the object closest to a thin wooden block, which served as a landmark. In Experiment 1, dogs were first trained to respond to a landmark placed directly on top of coaster, landmark 0 (L0). In the next phase of testing, the landmark was moved at successively greater distances (1, 4 or 10 cm) away from the reward object. Learning varied as a function of age group, food group, and task. The young dogs learned all of the tasks more quickly than the old dogs. The aged dogs on the enriched food learned L0 significantly more rapidly than aged dogs on control food. A higher proportion of dogs on the enriched food learned the task, when the distance was increased to 1cm. Experiment 2 showed that accuracy decreased with increased distance between the reward object and landmark, and this effect was greater in old animals. Experiment 3 showed stability of performance, despite using a novel landmark, and new locations, indicating that dogs learned the landmark concept. Experiment 4 found age impaired long-term retention of the landmark task. These results indicate that allocentric spatial learning is impaired in an age-dependent manner in dogs, and that age also affects performance when the distance between the landmark and target is increased. In addition, these results both support a role of oxidative damage in the development of age-associated cognitive dysfunction and indicate that short-term administration of a food enriched with supplemental antioxidants and mitochondrial cofactors can partially reverse the deleterious effects of aging on cognition. |
Address |
Life Science Division, University of Toronto at Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Scarborough, Ont., Canada M1C 1A4. milgram@psych.utoronto.ca |
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0149-7634 |
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PMID:12479842 |
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no |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2806 |
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Author |
Cerutti, D.T.; Staddon, J.E.R. |
Title |
Immediacy versus anticipated delay in the time-left experiment: a test of the cognitive hypothesis |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Journal of Experimental Psychology. Animal Behavior Processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process |
Volume |
30 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
45-57 |
Keywords |
Animals; Choice Behavior/*physiology; Cognition/*physiology; Columbidae; Male; Models, Psychological; Psychological Theory; *Reinforcement (Psychology); *Reinforcement Schedule; Time Perception/*physiology |
Abstract |
In the time-left experiment (J. Gibbon & R. M. Church, 1981), animals are said to compare an expectation of a fixed delay to food, for one choice, with a decreasing delay expectation for the other, mentally representing both upcoming time to food and the difference between current time and upcoming time (the cognitive hypothesis). The results of 2 experiments support a simpler view: that animals choose according to the immediacies of reinforcement for each response at a time signaled by available time markers (the temporal control hypothesis). It is not necessary to assume that animals can either represent or subtract representations of times to food to explain the results of the time-left experiment. |
Address |
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708-1050, USA. cerutti@psych.duke.edu |
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Edition |
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ISSN |
0097-7403 |
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Notes |
PMID:14709114 |
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no |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2768 |
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Author |
Kelly, D.M.; Spetch, M.L. |
Title |
Pigeons encode relative geometry |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2001 |
Publication |
Journal of Experimental Psychology. Animal Behavior Processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process |
Volume |
27 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
417-422 |
Keywords |
Animals; Behavior, Animal/physiology; Cognition/*physiology; Columbidae; Discrimination Learning/physiology; Form Perception/*physiology; Space Perception/*physiology |
Abstract |
Pigeons were trained to search for hidden food in a rectangular environment designed to eliminate any external cues. Following training, the authors administered unreinforced test trials in which the geometric properties of the apparatus were manipulated. During tests that preserved the relative geometry but altered the absolute geometry of the environment, the pigeons continued to choose the geometrically correct corners, indicating that they encoded the relative geometry of the enclosure. When tested in a square enclosure, which distorted both the absolute and relative geometry, the pigeons randomly chose among the 4 corners, indicating that their choices were not based on cues external to the apparatus. This study provides new insight into how metric properties of an environment are encoded by pigeons. |
Address |
Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2E9. kelly@bio.psy.ruhr-uni-bochum.de |
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0097-7403 |
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PMID:11676090 |
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no |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2770 |
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Author |
Tommasi, L.; Vallortigara, G. |
Title |
Searching for the center: spatial cognition in the domestic chick (Gallus gallus) |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2000 |
Publication |
Journal of Experimental Psychology. Animal Behavior Processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process |
Volume |
26 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
477-486 |
Keywords |
Animals; Behavior, Animal/physiology; Chickens; Cognition/*physiology; Learning/physiology; Male; Space Perception/*physiology; Spatial Behavior/*physiology |
Abstract |
Chicks learned to find food hidden under sawdust by ground-scratching in the central position of the floor of a closed arena. When tested inan arena of identical shape but a larger area, chicks searched at 2 different locations, one corresponding to the correct distance (i.e., center) in the smaller (training) arena and the other to the actual center of the test arena. When tested in an arena of the same shape but a smaller area, chicks searched in the center of it. These results suggest that chicks are able to encode information on the absolute and relative distance of the food from the walls of the arena. After training in the presence of a landmark located at the center of the arena, animals searched at the center even after the removal of the landmark. Marked changes in the height of the walls of the arena produced some displacement in searching behavior, suggesting that chicks used the angular size of the walls to estimate distances. |
Address |
Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Italy |
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0097-7403 |
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PMID:11056887 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2774 |
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Author |
Wasserman, E.A.; Gagliardi, J.L.; Cook, B.R.; Kirkpatrick-Steger, K.; Astley, S.L.; Biederman, I. |
Title |
The pigeon's recognition of drawings of depth-rotated stimuli |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
1996 |
Publication |
Journal of Experimental Psychology. Animal Behavior Processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process |
Volume |
22 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
205-221 |
Keywords |
Animals; Cognition/*physiology; Columbidae; Discrimination (Psychology); Form Perception/*physiology; Learning/*physiology; Photic Stimulation; Rotation |
Abstract |
Four experiments used a four-choice discrimination learning paradigm to explore the pigeon's recognition of line drawings of four objects (an airplane, a chair, a desk lamp, and a flashlight) that were rotated in depth. The pigeons reliably generalized discriminative responding to pictorial stimuli over all untrained depth rotations, despite the bird's having been trained at only a single depth orientation. These generalization gradients closely resembled those found in prior research that used other stimulus dimensions. Increasing the number of different vantage points in the training set from one to three broadened the range of generalized testing performance, with wider spacing of the training orientations more effectively broadening generalized responding. Template and geon theories of visual recognition are applied to these empirical results. |
Address |
Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City 52242-1407, USA. ed-wasserman@uiowa.educ |
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0097-7403 |
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PMID:8618103 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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2780 |
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Author |
Boysen, S.T.; Berntson, G.G. |
Title |
Responses to quantity: perceptual versus cognitive mechanisms in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
1995 |
Publication |
Journal of Experimental Psychology. Animal Behavior Processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process |
Volume |
21 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
82-86 |
Keywords |
Animals; Behavior, Animal; Choice Behavior; Cognition/*physiology; Female; *Pan troglodytes; Perception/*physiology; Reinforcement (Psychology); Task Performance and Analysis |
Abstract |
Two chimpanzees were trained to select among 2 different amounts of candy (1-6 items). The task was designed so that selection of either array by the active (selector) chimpanzee resulted in that array being given to the passive (observer) animal, with the remaining (nonselected) array going to the selector. Neither animal was able to select consistently the smaller array, which would reap the larger reward. Rather, both animals preferentially selected the larger array, thereby receiving the smaller number of reinforcers. When Arabic numerals were substituted for the food arrays, however, the selector animal evidenced more optimal performance, immediately selecting the smaller numeral and thus receiving the larger reward. These findings suggest that a basic predisposition to respond to the perceptual-motivational features of incentive stimuli can interfere with task performance and that this interference can be overridden when abstract symbols serve as choice stimuli. |
Address |
Comparative Cognition Project, Ohio State University, Columbus 43210-1222 |
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0097-7403 |
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PMID:7844508 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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2783 |
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Author |
Rizzolatti, G.; Fogassi, L.; Gallese, V. |
Title |
Mirrors of the mind |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Scientific American |
Abbreviated Journal |
Sci Am |
Volume |
295 |
Issue |
5 |
Pages |
54-61 |
Keywords |
Animals; Brain/*physiology; Cognition/*physiology; Discrimination (Psychology)/physiology; Emotions/physiology; Humans; Imitative Behavior; Learning/*physiology; Mental Processes/*physiology; Motor Activity/physiology; Neurons/physiology; Recognition (Psychology); Sensation/physiology |
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Address |
Neurosciences Department, University of Parma, Italy |
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0036-8733 |
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PMID:17076084 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2829 |
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Author |
Heschl, A.; Burkart, J. |
Title |
A new mark test for mirror self-recognition in non-human primates |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Primates |
Abbreviated Journal |
Primates |
Volume |
47 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
187-198 |
Keywords |
Animals; *Behavior, Animal; Callithrix/*physiology; Cognition/*physiology; Discrimination (Psychology)/physiology; Female; Male; Photic Stimulation; *Self Concept |
Abstract |
For 30 years Gallup's (Science 167:86-87, 1970) mark test, which consists of confronting a mirror-experienced test animal with its own previously altered mirror image, usually a color mark on forehead, eyebrow or ear, has delivered valuable results about the distribution of visual self-recognition in non-human primates. Chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans and, less frequently, gorillas can learn to correctly understand the reflection of their body in a mirror. However, the standard version of the mark test is good only for positively proving the existence of self-recognition. Conclusive statements about the lack of self-recognition are more difficult because of the methodological constraints of the test. This situation has led to a persistent controversy about the power of Gallup's original technique. We devised a new variant of the test which permits more unequivocal decisions about both the presence and absence of self-recognition. This new procedure was tested with marmoset monkeys (Callithrix jacchus), following extensive training with mirror-related tasks to facilitate performance in the standard mark test. The results show that a slightly altered mark test with a new marking substance (chocolate cream) can help to reliably discriminate between true negative results, indicating a real lack of ability to recognize oneself in a mirror, from false negative results that are due to methodological particularities of the standard test. Finally, an evolutionary hypothesis is put forward as to why many primates can use a mirror instrumentally – i.e. know how to use it for grasping at hidden objects – while failing in the decisive mark test. |
Address |
Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, Adolf Lorenz Gasse 2, 3422, Altenberg, Austria. adolf.heschl@uni-graz.at |
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0032-8332 |
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PMID:16432640 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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2810 |
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